August has always held a special place in my heart because it is the Month of the Cotton-top Tamarin—a time when communities across Colombia celebrate one of the country’s most extraordinary animals. The cotton-top tamarin is found only in Colombia. That makes this species 100% Colombian and an irreplaceable part of the country’s natural heritage. This year’s celebration has been especially inspiring. From the heart of Barranquilla to schools and communities near cotton-top tamarin habitat, children, families, educators, artists, and local organizations have transformed conservation messages into photographs, paintings, performances, games, and stories. Each activity has been different, but they all share one essential message: the cotton-top tamarin belongs free in the forest and should never be kept as a pet.

One of the month’s most exciting moments took place at Buenavista Shopping Center, one of the busiest and best-known gathering places in Barranquilla. For years, the Buenavista team had expressed an interest in supporting Proyecto Tití and helping us introduce the cotton-top tamarin to the thousands of people who visit the mall. This August, that shared dream finally became a reality. The Proyecto Tití team installed an exhibition of 16 large-format photographs along the bridge connecting the two shopping centers. The location could not be more fitting. A bridge crossed by thousands of people each day has become a bridge between the city and the tropical dry forest. The exhibition is more than a collection of beautiful wildlife photographs. It was designed as a journey. Visitors enter the tropical dry forest, meet cotton-top tamarin family groups and their infants, discover why trees are essential to their survival, learn about threats to their habitat, and see how everyone can help. At the end of the journey, a QR code invites visitors to become part of the species’ future by donating to plant a tree and restore the forest these remarkable primates need to survive and thrive.

What I love most about this exhibition is how naturally it brings conservation into everyday life. Visitors may arrive to meet friends, shop, or enjoy time with family. Then, unexpectedly, they find themselves looking into the face of a cotton-top tamarin infant or discovering a forest they may never have visited. Conservation can begin with exactly that kind of unexpected connection. That sense of discovery continued during the exhibition’s opening celebration, when the story presented in the photographs became an interactive experience for children and families. Tito, Proyecto Tití’s beloved mascot, welcomed young visitors as they created drawings, asked questions, and discovered more about the cotton-top tamarin. At the Proyecto Tití stand, families could continue the conversation, learn about our conservation work, and support local artisans by purchasing plush cotton-top tamarin toys and keychains. Together, these experiences helped visitors move naturally from seeing the species to understanding its story—and then to discovering how they could help protect it.

This same spirit of learning through play and creativity has extended to the Barranquilla Zoo, which joined the celebration with special weekend programming for children and families. Instead of presenting conservation as a lesson to memorize, the zoo has turned it into an experience to explore. Visitors can create masks, test their knowledge through tropical dry forest trivia, take part in skill challenges, and enjoy animal encounters. Art, play, movement, and discovery give every child a different way to connect with this uniquely Colombian primate. That same spirit of imagination can be seen in schools throughout the region. Rather than repeating a single activity, educators have encouraged students to express what the cotton-top tamarin means to them in their own ways. Some children have built models of the forest, while others have composed songs, poems, and acrostics. Students have painted watercolors, designed posters, created costumes, and developed theatrical performances that bring the challenges facing the species to life.

At Institución Educativa Víctor Zubiría–Las Campesinas, this creativity filled the school through models, music, poetry, masks, and theater. At Institución Educativa Santiago de Tolú, students translated what they had learned into watercolor paintings. They presented the conservation messages within their artwork to the school community, which then voted for a favorite. The real achievement was not simply choosing a winner; it was seeing students use art to teach others why the species matters. Masks have become especially powerful tools for younger children. After creating and decorating cotton-top tamarin masks, students pretend to become the animals and speak from their perspective. They describe the forest as their home, explain why they need trees and family groups, and ask people not to capture or keep them as pets. Through imagination, children move beyond learning facts and begin to understand what freedom in the forest means for a wild animal. Colombian pride has given these activities an even deeper meaning. At Institución Educativa María Inmaculada in Sabanalarga, children from kindergarten through fifth grade wore Colombia shirts with their masks, proudly celebrating a species that exists nowhere else on Earth. Their plays, posters, and mask competition carried a clear message: protecting the cotton-top tamarin is part of protecting Colombia itself.

At CDI Semillitas de Amor in Luruaco, some of the youngest participants explored the same idea through drawings, costumes, masks, and acrostics. Their work shows that children do not need to understand every scientific detail before they can begin to care. They need opportunities to be curious, creative, and proud of the wildlife found in their country. These celebrations remind me that conservation is not one organization, one activity, or one day on the calendar. It is a relationship built over time—between people and wildlife, cities and forests, and knowledge and action. A photograph can inspire curiosity. A watercolor can communicate pride. A theatrical performance can help an audience understand the harm caused by the illegal pet trade. A child wearing a mask can become a powerful voice for keeping the cotton-top tamarin free in the forest. For me, this variety is one of the greatest strengths of the Month of the Cotton-top Tamarin. Conservation messages do not have to begin in a laboratory or lecture hall. They can begin with a paintbrush, a song, a game, or a child proudly wearing the colors of Colombia. Each experience offers a different doorway into caring. Together, those moments create a culture that recognizes the species as part of Colombia’s identity and accepts responsibility for its protection.

I am deeply grateful to the educators, students, families, community members, artisans, partner organizations, and Proyecto Tití team members who have made these celebrations possible. Buenavista Shopping Center, the Barranquilla Zoo, and participating schools have each carried the story into new spaces and invited new people to care. That is what this month is all about: bringing the forest’s story into classrooms, public spaces, and the heart of the city while inviting everyone to become part of its future. Together, we can protect a species that is 100% Colombian and ensure that cotton-top tamarins remain where they belong—living freely in Colombia’s forests for generations to come.